What do you do with your old boxes?

[strobez]

I saw a thread about old boxes being collectors items, but it seemed abandoned so I thought I'd start a new one... apologies if I should have resurrected it instead.

Anyway, I'm wondering what people do with their boxes once the kit is built? I finally cleared out a bunch that were stacking up without much use, but I had a real hard time to get rid of them. There's just something tactile and pleasing about those bits of cardboard, aren't there?

I decided to make HQ scans (some of which I've used to update Scalemates entries) of the artwork, filed the instruction sheet and just get rid of them. It was a bit of a compromise, but I just couldn't start down the path of keeping empty boxes... even flat ones.

I was curious though, if I was the only one who felt that way or not though. I suspect not... 

[TheChronicOne]

Im not at that point yet, but when it gets to the point they are too cumbersome I plan on taking all the ones of "lesser" value and cutting the top of and maybe the sides?? And then using some whole boxes as storage. At some point when I hit the lottery it will all be properly displayed.  Eventually only boxes I'll keep whole are the ones of some value, historic signifigance, or I just plain like them. The rest will be sliced up and crammed inside like a turducken.

[JasonW]

If the box doesn't have a kit in it, typically it goes straight to the recycling bin. The only boxes I keep or sell would be from really old, classic collectable kits. If the box is older than I am and a classic collector kit I'll try to re-sell the box on eBay. If it is a kit built during my childhood, I may hold on to it for nostalgic reasons, otherwise it gets recycled.

[The Wooksta!]

I tend to reuse the lid boxes as much as possible, everything else goes on the bonfire.  Stuff recycling!  I enjoy a good bonfire and I'm recycling the paper/cardboard as fun! 

[The Rat]

I've heard that some people wallpaper their hobby room with hem. Might do that myself some day.

[McColm]

Usually gets recycled, although anything related to the Hurricane and Spitfire gets framed.

[Dizzyfugu]

When I was young, I used to to keep Matchbox kit boxes - or better just the front artwork glued to the back with the profiles, for reference. Obviously, they had a large appeal and impact. 

Anyway, after moving out of ma parents' home I threw them away, and never kept any other model kit box - except for some Japanese/Mecha/Anime stuff, like the box of the recently posted Hasegawa OMG Shinden. I keep the instructions, though, you never know - also as a good reference for donation parts or kitbashings, since some kits of the same topic are better suited to certain plans or ideas than others.

[Steel Penguin]

if its an airfix box, the flying hours get ripped off, the rest put to recycle, I don't have the room or the motivation, if I was scratch building wargames stuff ( buildings, scenery, vehicles) id keep and use them for that, but im not,  and I did turn several 1:35 figure boxes into 2" square mine markers once 

[sandiego89]

I only display a few of my models near my man cave/bench in a corner of my garage.  I don't display anywhere else, its seems Mrs. SanDiego89 would not appreciate cold war WHIF's as part of the living room décor as much as I would.   So if any of my assembled kits fits back into the box, it goes back into the box and into the garage loft for long term storage or later mods.  Most ships and some 1/72 aircraft will still fit into the box.  If not the assembled models go into various bigger boxes or a few shelves out of site.  Other wise I am not attached to the boxes and they get tossed.

-Dave   

[Dork the kit slayer]

I generally scan mine and save them and send them to the Boxartden.com . Some classics or good art I frame and display in the "mancave"  I know a couple of boxart collectors  to whom I send the actual boxtops (for price of the postage)
and they in turn send me scans . I publish a few of them in my blog from time to time.

[Captain Canada]

I used to save the artwork that I liked from the box tops, but then I decided to just recycle them. I do save quite a few instruction sheets tho.

[zenrat]

I keep the old Hasegawa "box art & font" boxes intact and stack them up on a shelf above my bench.
Anything else, if I like the picture I cut it off and put it in a box.  Instructions go in a different box.
When I get one of the better made Revell or AMT 1/24 or 1/25 car boxes I keep them intact as they are useful for storage of various stuffs.  And for putting oddly shaped presents in before wrapping them.

[NARSES2]

I keep all my old instruction sheets. Airfix boxes get the flying hours tokens removed and then are generally chucked unless they have exceptional art work. All others are mostly thrown unless they are particularly sturdy (storage) or have good artwork.

[strobez]

I generally scan mine and save them and send them to the Boxartden.com . Some classics or good art I frame and display in the "mancave"  I know a couple of boxart collectors  to whom I send the actual boxtops (for price of the postage)
and they in turn send me scans . I publish a few of them in my blog from time to time.

There's a... BOX ART DEN?!

Cooooool! After checking it out I notice catalogues as well. Do you think they'd be interested in an Academy 2016 catalogue? Who do I send it to?

[Supertom]

Admittedly, I sometimes buy a kit just because the box art is cool (so glad I didn't grow up in the Roy Cross era). What I've been doing lately is to cut out the box art from kits I've completed, and stick them on the stairwell to my basement. The wife also found that the smaller, new Airfix boxes make for very attractive spice racks in the cupboards!